Activism for working folk.

2019.01.17

Action: concerning mercury poisoning, law and order, and William Barr.

Another day, another Administration effort to gut rules that protect good Americans, as now the EPA wants to let power plants put more mercury in our air and water. Because what's healthier than mercury, particularly for growing children? And what's more popular than poisoning our air and water? It wasn't that long ago that most states put out health warnings about eating local fish because of all the mercury in it, but I guess our Administration wants to bring those glory days back. And the 900,000-plus Americans who submitted comments demanding stronger mercury regulations a few years ago? They must just be "little people" to this Administration. You just remember that "little people" made America great, and that a lot of "great men" deserve scorn, shame, and hatred. Penn Environment helps you tell our EPA to scuttle its plans to allow more mercury pollution in the air we breathe and the water we drink.

Meanwhile, the National Police Association is actually trying to get the Massachusetts Bar Association (or MBA) to disbar Suffolk County's incoming District Attorney, Rachael Rollins. Thinking she must have done something to deserve that? Well, no: they want her disbarred because she declared, while running for office, that she'd stop prosecuting all those petty crimes that seem to jail a disproportionate number of black folks. And yet every single DA in America prioritizes certain kinds of cases over certain others! It's called "prosecutorial discretion," and I presume the NPA has heard of it. And Suffolk County police aren't even complaining about Ms. Rollins, possibly because they feel the same way about the work they're being compelled to do, so I feel compelled to regard the NPA's complaint as an attempt at election nullification. So Color of Change helps you tell the MBA to dismiss the complaint against Ms. Rollins.

Alec Mento's *Penny Rants* books help you relive the horrors of the last 14 years of American politics, but with an improbable optimism and (per Kirkus Reviews) an "acerbic flair" and "a talent for distilling complex ideas into quickly digestible parts." And you can only get these books at Blunt Instruments; click the photo above (or type blunteye.com into your browser) to get them!